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5, Sept 2012
ISSN 2006-1781
African Journal of Computing & ICT
2012 Afr J Comp & ICT All Rights Reserved
www.ajocict.net
ABSTRACT
The need to have a visual perception of signals in order to monitor events in time and value brought about the development of a
measuring instrument referred to as oscilloscope. Designed to accept electrical voltage signals, virtually any type of signal can be viewed
with the use of a corresponding transducer. This instrument visually displays signals in form of a waveform that both represent the signal
in magnitude and time. This paper presents a novel approach to the development of a low-cost digital oscilloscope that is void of the
complexity of the modern day scopes but providing adequate capability and functionalities. It uses light emitting diode (LED) technology
for its display as a substitute for the cathode ray tube (CRT). The use of Phase Locked Loop (PLL) in its time base generation, produce a
range of sweep frequencies with high pulse fidelity. With the use of real-time sampling, the signals are captured as they occur. This
bridges the gap between the digital storage scopes and the analogue ones while not involving the complexity in digital phosphor
oscilloscope (DOP) development.
Keywords - Oscilloscope, Waveform, PLL, LED, Digital, Phosphor, CRT.
1. INTRODUCTION
The oscilloscope is basically a graph displaying device it draws a
graph of a voltage signal [1]. In many applications the graph shows
the variation of signal amplitude (Y-axis) with time (X-axis). The
brightness or intensity of the display can be regarded as a third axis
the Z-axis. The oscilloscope accepts voltage signals at its inputs,
but virtually any type of signal (vibration, heartbeat, ECG, speed
of objects, sound, light flashes, etc.) can be viewed in an
oscilloscope with the use of transducers. Sound for example from
the vocal cord of a singer can be displayed and analyze in a scope
through the use of a microphone as a transducer. Early
oscilloscopes were analogue in nature and display the signal
waveform in a CRT display, similar to that use in television
displays. However, the need to store these waveforms results to the
development of storage type oscilloscopes. Since it is much easier
to store information digitally, digital oscilloscopes are then being
developed. Furthermore, with the advent of microprocessors and
digital signal processing (DSP) techniques, the present day
oscilloscope are becoming much complex and have grown higher
in their frequency of operation.
It is therefore important to employ a cryptographic method in
ensuring the security of the transmitted data. Cryptography aims at
making this information unintelligible, thereby establishing data
security. The trade-off for all these improvements is the high cost
of this versatile instrument. Only few scientists, engineers,
technicians and others, who need the oscilloscope as an
indispensable device in the laboratory can, really afford it.
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ISSN 2006-1781
African Journal of Computing & ICT
2012 Afr J Comp & ICT All Rights Reserved
www.ajocict.net
57
ISSN 2006-1781
African Journal of Computing & ICT
2012 Afr J Comp & ICT All Rights Reserved
www.ajocict.net
Reference
Vref
Vref
row1
3
1
2
R1
3
1
row2
row3
row4
row n
R2
3
2
R3
3
-------------
-------------
R4
input signal
Rn
(+IP)
3
1
2
----------------------
The first stage of the LED scope is a vertical input amplifier. The
amplifier helps to match the output impedance of the signal source
to the input of the vertical sweep control which is the second stage
of the LED scope. The vertical system converts the applied
analogue signal to their digital equivalent by a way of voltage
value weight. The weight of the signal is then use to determine row
on the LED screen to be powered as shown in figure 2. The
horizontal sweep system is used to apply a time based signal to
each column on the screen which determines the placement of each
signal value with respect to its time and frequency of occurrence
on the display. The time base sweep frequency is set by the time
base oscillator (which is either internal or external to the scope).
The entire system is managed from a control panel.
column1
column2 column3
column n
58
ISSN 2006-1781
African Journal of Computing & ICT
2012 Afr J Comp & ICT All Rights Reserved
www.ajocict.net
Equ (4)
Where fin is the frequency of the 555 timer or external input clock
n is a reference clock value.
m is feedback clock value
k is a post-divider value
The reference , feedback and post-divider values n, m, can vary
from one to several hundred in FPGAs[4,5], or to several
thousands in ASICs.
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ISSN 2006-1781
African Journal of Computing & ICT
2012 Afr J Comp & ICT All Rights Reserved
www.ajocict.net
60
8. RESULTS
It was found out that the LED based oscilloscope produced the
same waveform as that of other oscilloscopes when subjected to
test with all available signals. The PPL time base enabled the LED
scope to be switched to operate at different range of frequencies.
Though few jitters occurs when moving from one frequency set to
another, the signals are perfectly produced on the screen with high
pulse fidelity once they settle at a specific frequency point. It was
found also that by adjusting the time/division appropriately, the
signal waveform can be made to stand on the screen at which point
the proper measurements can be taken. The calibration effort using
equations 5 to 9 yielded a good result with about 0.5% deviation
which is eminent with this kind of scope. The use of an industrially
manufactured LED screen with the correct precision, and better
adjustment of Vresolution and the base frequency steps will help
eliminate measurement errors.
9. CONCLUSION
The development approach used in this paper is to find new ways
of making the oscilloscope less expensive and more available as an
everyday tool for the scientist, engineer and the technologist. The
method can be made to support higher frequencies. The LED
oscilloscope is low cost and void of the complexity use in the
development of conventional scopes. It produces comparative
results. It is a choice for all non-critical work that goes on
everyday in the laboratory and in out-of-lab measurements due to
its portability.
ISSN 2006-1781
African Journal of Computing & ICT
2012 Afr J Comp & ICT All Rights Reserved
www.ajocict.net
REFERENCES
Authors Briefs
[1] Tektronik (2000), XYZs of Oscilloscope, Tektronik, Inc. 2000
[2] Kalsi, H. S. (2004), Electronics Instrumentation, 2nd Edition,
Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited. 2004
[3] Maneatis, J.G. (2003),Selecting PLLs for ASIC Application
Requires Tradeoffs,Planet Analog Magazine
9/2003,www.planetanalog.com
[4]Using the ClockLock & ClockBoost PLL Features in Apex
Devices. Altera Application Notes 115, v.2.3, May 2002, pp. 155, www.altera.com
[5]Using PLLs in Satrix Devices, Altera Application Note 200,
v. 1.0, February 2002, pp. 1-70, www.altera.com
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